Lynch (23 page)
Authors: Peter J Merrigan
Clark
laughed. ‘I think that’s what he was talking about.’
‘My officers are thorough,’ Mann said. He looked at
Clark
. ‘Too thorough in some cases.’
‘Wait,’ Kane said. ‘You still class Ann as an officer? A detective?’
Mann shrugged. ‘She’s been dressed down,’ he said.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Means I’m no longer a detective,’
Clark
said, ‘but that I can resume a role as a desk sergeant.’
‘No,’ Kane said. ‘That’s not fair. Everything she did was to help us, to protect us—isn’t that her job? To protect and serve? We wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her.’
‘That’s an American term, but yes. That’s why she’s still on the force,’ Mann said. ‘If she’d accept it.’
Margaret took the chair beside
Clark
’s bed. ‘You’re not accepting?’
‘I don’t want it,’
Clark
said. ‘I’ve got other avenues to explore.’
‘I’ve been trying to convince her,’ Mann said. ‘We both have,’ he added, indicating
Wilson
. ‘But she won’t have it. I’ll leave you to it; maybe you can convince her otherwise.’
‘I’ll come with you,’
Wilson
said. ‘I could do with stretching my legs.’ He turned to the others. ‘Good to see you both again. I have a house on the coast, down by
Portsmouth
. If you promise not to bring any bad guys with you, you’re more than welcome to visit.’ He winked at Margaret and smiled at Kane.
When they had left, John said, ‘I think someone’s got herself an admirer.’
Margaret swatted him like she would a fly. She turned back to
Clark
. ‘Why won’t you take the job?’
‘I have a few reasons,’
Clark
said. She pushed the button attached to the frame and the bed rose behind her. ‘Firstly, it’s a demotion. I don’t do demotions. And secondly, punching María Herrera in the face showed me that I’ve been containing an anger for too long. I can’t release it on the force, not the way I want to.’
‘What will you do instead?’ Kane asked.
‘I’ve not decided yet,’
Clark
said. ‘I might become a kickboxing instructor. Channel my energy into something productive like helping kids.’ She smiled, then her face assumed a sombre set. ‘I’m sorry about Jesse,’ she said to Kane.
‘I know,’ he said.
‘How was the funeral?’
They all sat and they talked with her for a while. For Kane, his life as Scott was over, as short-lived as it was. There is no hiding from the past; it will always find you eventually.
He remembered the feeling he had had as they left the warehouse in
Oxford
last week that he was done running, that he would stand and fight where he could. And he knew, given the chance, that he would.
‘Five minutes,’ a nurse said, signalling the end of visiting hours, and she left, walking further down the corridor to issue the same warning in other rooms.
‘What about you, John?’
Clark
asked. ‘What will you do now?’
‘Now that your friends at NCIS are finished with me, I think I’ll go home again.’
‘I’ve asked him to stay with us,’ Kane said, ‘but he won’t.’
‘I have a life to get back to,’ John told them. ‘You do, too, if you wanted it. At least you’d be among old friends.’
‘I can’t go back there,’ Kane said. ‘It’s not that I don’t miss everyone, it’s that I miss one person too much to be surrounded by those memories again.’
John nodded, turned to
Clark
. ‘I fly back on Friday. I won’t be sorry to see the back of you,’ he laughed.
‘Likewise,’
Clark
said and smiled.
Margaret stood with the use of her walking cane. ‘We should let you rest.’ She leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Take care,’ she said. ‘We’ll come back tomorrow.’
Clark
nodded, took Kane’s hand and signalled he should wait behind.
‘I’ll be right out behind you, Margaret.’
Understanding their need for a private chat, Margaret nodded and John said, ‘We’ll wait for you in that bar across the way.’
‘Have one for me,’
Clark
said.
When they were alone, she said, ‘Sit down.’
Kane sat on the edge of the bed and kept hold of her hand.
‘How are you doing?’
‘I’m stronger than I used to be,’ he said.
‘I know.’
Kane brushed some hair from her forehead and smiled. ‘I can’t imagine you not being a detective.’
Clark
shrugged. ‘It’ll take some getting used to, even for me, but I can’t go back on the force. Not now.’
‘Then we’ll have to give you some makeup tips.’
They laughed.
‘You know this isn’t over, don’t you?’
Clark
said. ‘They’re letting John go because he wasn’t important, he wasn’t really involved. Local police in
Belfast
can protect him. But you and Margaret…’
‘I’m not going back into Witness Protection,’ Kane said. ‘I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not.’
‘I know,’
Clark
said. ‘But to do that, you’ll always be on the run.’
‘When I refuse Witness Protection, I know I’ll be on my own.’
‘You’ll have me,’
Clark
said. ‘For what it’s worth.’
‘That’s worth more than you can know,’ Kane said. ‘But I’m not going on the run.’
‘They’ll send more people after you.’
‘Then I’ll fight them.’
‘I’ll be with you every step,’
Clark
said.
‘What are you saying?’
Clark
looked across the room at the window, at the blue sky, traced her eyes along the vapour trail left behind by an airplane. She held his hand up and cupped it with her free hand.
‘I’m saying I’ll be with you for the fight. I might not be an officer of the law any more, but I haven’t lost my spirit.’
‘Thank you,’ Kane said. And he really meant it. He hugged her. ‘You want this as much as I do?’
‘A job is a job,’ she said. ‘I can take it or leave it. But what’s life without a bit of adventure?’
‘Miserable,’ Kane said.
‘And boring,’ she confirmed. ‘Miserable and boring. So let’s fight back. I won’t sit around feeling sorry for myself and neither will you. I won’t let you.’
‘Have you got a plan?’ Kane asked.
She nodded and shrugged at the same time. ‘As my grandma always said, “The best defence is an offence.”’
The End
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Although the act of writing is a solitary pursuit, no novel is every truly the child of only its author. I would like to thank the many people who helped me along the way in both my thought processes and the editing of
Lynch
. While Kane Rider, Margaret Bernhard, Ann Clark and the rest of the characters that span the pages of
Rider
and
Lynch
have been with me for some years now, the following people have all helped shape them in some way or another, and deserve my unending gratitude.
Susan ‘Sooz’ Simpson, an invaluable editor whose talents with a raw work of fiction are only surpassed by her hilarity with a vodka and Coke in her hand.
My sister, Mary Merrigan, always my harshest critic and best proofreader, who pushed me from the start and kicked me when I got things wrong. I’m still smarting!
My parents, of course, who encouraged my creativity as a child at every pass and didn’t mind when I spent hours with my head in a storybook instead of playing football in the park.
And I could never have completed
Lynch
without my partner, my best friend, and my confidante, Anthony, who sat quietly while I mused, and told me who Jesse should really be.
I love you all.
PJM, December 2013
Peter J Merrigan was born and raised in
Derry
,
Northern Ireland
before moving to
London
to read English & Creative Writing at university. In 2010 he relocated to Yorkshire and now lives between Leeds and
Manchester
with his partner. His first novel,
The Camel Trail
, was published in 2011 and
Rider
was released in 2012.
Lynch
, the sequel to
Rider
, is his third novel.
Find Peter online at
www.peterjmerrigan.co.uk
On Twitter:
@pjmerrigan140
And on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/authorpeterjmerrigan
The Camel Trail
Rider